Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek responded to your questions in a European chat
Nicolas Sarkozy, nuclear energy, Barack Obama in Prague and the Guantánamo prisoners – these rank among the issues you asked about in the European chat. You can read the answers of Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek here.
- David Polák, 9. 2. 2009, 18:54
Good morning, Prime Minister, I would like to ask you if the Czech Presidency does not mind French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s constant involvement? As far as I know, the French Presidency ended on 31 December 2008 (I know that France is a big country known around the world, but shouldn’t he leave the Czech Presidency alone and stop insinuating that we are incompetent?) Thank you for your answer. Sincerely Yours David Polák (a 16-year old member of the Young Conservatives)
Responded to, 10. 2. 2009, 10:02
Though the French Presidency ended on 31 December 2008, France’s influence is enduring, which is normal, given that France is a big country. Nicolas Sarkozy directs his speeches more at the French public than at the rest of the EU. Each politician is responsible mainly for the country he is leading and for which his voters have given him mandate. The fact that French media race to disseminate his statements is more a proof of French media or political culture, not of the real state of affairs. We have got the mandate to lead the EU and we will constantly point at individual European politicians stepping outside the common framework, disregarding agreed rules or European positions. This is the way we will proceed, may it concern Nicolas Sarkozy or anyone else. Such is our role.
- Ondráš, 9. 2. 2009, 20:44
Dear Prime Minister, you have mentioned several times, I quote: “I am absolutely sure that we won’t be able to do without nuclear energy in the decades to come”. Do you think that within the Czech Presidency you will succeed in pushing through your belief that “in the EU we have to rely upon nuclear energy, since we have no other choice”? However, the disagreement between President Klaus and the head of the European Greens Daniel Cohn-Bendit suggests that the Czechs will be perceived in the EU as “heretics” (as one French daily has labelled us)... By the way, I also prefer nuclear energy to grass... :). I wish you good luck, a lot of success in the New Year and a lot of courage in leading the European Union!
Responded to, 10 February. 2009, 10:22
Let us try to separate the Czech discussion from the European discussion. We use nuclear power and our internal discussion addresses rather the issue whether we should increase production of nuclear power or not. In my opinion, we have not lost any time with respect to this issue. This is manifested by the initiation of the process of the Environment Investigation Agency (EIA) at the Ministry of the Environment. I believe that in the next election period any political representation will have to make a decision in this matter. It is quite evident that the EU is witnessing a renaissance of the use of nuclear power and in many EU Member States, which have declared a moratorium on further use of nuclear power, serious discussions regarding a change of opinion are taking place. This is manifested by the fact that we have succeeded to implement the organisation of the Nuclear Energy Forum under the auspices of the European Commission alternatively in Bratislava and Prague. The Greens in the EU are being exposed to more noticeable pressure of the reality of the limited use of renewable energy sources and the risks involved in supplies of gas and oil. I suppose that nuclear power will get the green light.
- Martin Kantor, 9. 2. 2009, 19:56
Dear Prime Minister, what is the current situation regarding the possibility of a visit by American President Barack Obama to Prague? Are you taking any concrete measures to make such a visit a reality? Thank you for your reply.
Responded to, 10 February 2009, 10:10
We are seriously considering the participation of the American administration in the informal EU Summit. The programme of President Obama in Europe at the beginning of April is extremely demanding and it will make demands not only on logistics but also on the transport capacity and overall efficiency of his European mission. After the G20 Summit in London he will be preparing for the Strasbourg Summit and it is rather an issue of practicality whether the whole European delegation will subsequently travel to Prague. We are discussing this issue, and we have support; however, the solution must reflect the problems mentioned above. The summit in Prague could relate to the preparations of the summit in Copenhagen, i.e. the issues of climate and energy, and it could relate to the preparations of the EU-USA Summit in Washington, it could also relate to negotiations of the WTO, i.e. rather issues of economic crisis and security than issues of energy and commerce.
- Larissa Chace, 10. 2. 2009, 7:58
Dear Mr Prime Minister, please allow me 2 questions: 1) Do you think EU countries should accept prisoners from Guantanamo? Why yes/not? Will the Czech Republic take any such prisoners? 2) What specific steps can EU institutions take to prevent member countries from adopting protectionist policies in relation to the economic crisis? Thank you.
Responded to, 10 February 2009, 11:18
As we have already declared in a press release, the Czech Presidency welcomes the decision of the US Administration to close the Guantánamo prison. It is obvious that this issue must be dealt with by Foreign Ministers and possibly also Interior Ministers since accepting these prisoners can have an impact on the security of the whole of the EU. The Member States are considering the options that are open to them under their respective legal frameworks – countries such as Portugal, Spain, Italy, Finland and France have expressed their agreement to take these prisoners; Germany, whose opinion in this matter I share, requires a common EU position, whereas Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands have clearly stated their refusal. This means that the EU has not so far adopted a single approach. In the Czech Republic there are problems at a general level related to the acceptability of these prisoners, i.e. explaining and working with the public, and there is also a legal problem. We currently lack legislation that would enable a judicial procedure to take place and we lack the facilities for the prisoners to serve their sentence. We could take these prisoners only within the system of political asylum, which we do not consider as a particularly good solution. I regard the closure of the prison as a process that is still under way. It was good news that it began. Now it is the task of the American Administration as well as of the EU and the individual Member States to solve concrete problems concerning the possibility of accepting prisoners.
Further questions answered by the Prime Minister can be found in the relevant language versions of the chat – Czech and English.
Last update: 10.2.2009 16:07
